The first day of class, I talked with our local poet about the absence of blogging in our lives. The discussion, although brief, was steeped in skepticism, at least on my part, as I turned a weary eye to the deplorable 25 % that lay adjacent to the words “blog posts and comments” on the syllabus. What was this new anomaly? I thought. It was the enemy—my enemy—shrouded in ambiguity, an uncharted, unrefined territory. Just what the hell is a blog exactly, anyway, eh?
Eh?
Admittedly, I was intimidated. Due to a compilation of other syllabi, other classes, books, pens, calculators, all that bullshit, I admired this creature from a distance, taking an accidental holiday the first week. The very first week…how moronic was I?
Well, after pouring over class blogs of other, less timid, pioneers, I finally found the words to begin what has been an engaging, profound experience.
Really, no joke.
The works that we have covered, the discussions that we’ve had in class, and the entirely useful and advantageous journey into the blogging realm, has topped the highlight reel of my academic semester. Granted, now, that that isn’t a very difficult thing to achieve, being that my other class selections were less-than-stimulating decisions. But, 745, so far, has been a pleasure.
The one thing, above all else, that I value in the blogs: the ability to be less formal and just plain more honest. I’d compare it to when Rose talks about the disparity between his journalistic and novelistic tendencies, the fact that he can pour sentiment into his writing, rather than feel as though he cannot betray some stylistic, formal guideline. The structure of essays, sometimes, can be too restrictive in the creative sense, whereas a blog or novel, in form, enables the author to extrapolate on their ideas in a highly relatable manner.
I used to feel the exact same way, and I guess to a degree, I still do. As an aspiring journalist, there's something that irks me about the newly-coined phrase "citizen journalist" because I feel like that means nowadays anyone with an opinion and a blog, can call themselves a "journalist." And I used to write off blogs as stupid trendy bullshit.
ReplyDeleteBut blogs have developed into a new media of literature all on their own. They might be comparable to a digitalized column, but even that description doesn't suffice. When a blog goes on the Internet, as much as this can scare us, the words never really leaves.
It is true, blogs can reach us in ways we never otherwise could have conceived. Because let's face, everyone is on the Internet today. So they have their value.
This was such a thoughtful response, Tom. When I originally thought of blogging as "that deplorable 25%," I had a much simpler reason. In the past, I've assigned other forms of writing, and it's a challenge getting students to turn them in in a timely fashion. Because you don't have to print anything out or carry it to class, you can literally write right up to the deadline. I thought I was making life easier!
ReplyDeleteAlso, past students have said that they want an opportunity to know one another better. I thought that writing to one another would be more interesting than writing 2 more papers.
I really like what you have to say about blogging.